Resource Center

Duqu could pose threat to key energy installations

With the creation of the Duqu computer virus, which Middle Eastern news source The National said is created for espionage, many are fearful of attacks on important energy and utility installations in the area. Internet security should be ramped up in areas that are concerned about the Duqu virus.

"It's definitely a concern," Mohammed Al Zuhair, general manager for global supply chain management at Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, told the news source. "As a company, you have to mitigate all the time against the risk of fire, loss of power and loss of connection. The question is what impact there will be on the company if you shut down for one day or one month."

The Stuxnet virus, which The National said is a worm that can self-replicate and was created to sabotage Siemens management systems, is said to be the basis for the Duqu virus. Iranian officials said Stuxnet infected 30,000 personal computers in the country last year.

InformationWeek said Duqu has infected organizations in eight countries. Internet security precautions should be taken, as the news source said many of the attacks were due to Windows "zero-day" vulnerability.